Born in Cairo, Salwa Castelo Branco came to Portugal in the early 1980s after a stay in New York, where she designed and taught a master’s course in Urban Ethnomusicology. Here she taught at the newly created Department of Music Sciences at NOVA FCSH.
In 1990 she launched the master’s degree in musical sciences at NOVA FCSH with two specialisations: Historical Musicology and Ethnomusicology. Five years later, he founded the Institute of Ethnomusicology – Centre for Music and Dance Studies (INET-MD – NOVA FCSH), the first Portuguese research unit in the field of music sciences, whose largest research project resulted in the publication in 2010 of the Encyclopaedia of Music in Portugal in the 20th Century.
In recognition of the contribution of this work, the Portuguese Society of Authors awarded her the Pro-Author prize in 2010.
Alongside her career in Portugal, Salwa Castelo-Branco has continued to develop an international career, having been elected Vice-President of the Society for Ethnomusicology, the largest North American association for ethnomusicology. He was also President of the International Council for Traditional Music, the largest international academic association in the field of ethnomusicology, until 2021.
She was also very active in the fado’s candidacy for the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.